Like Stars
by Dreamshadow102
Summary: Like stars, Arya. Like stars, you may not always see me but know that I love you with all my heart.
1. What We Lost

The man stared wistfully out of the window, his hands resting on the sill. The cloak of night had descended upon his lands and not even his heightened senses could pick out the shapes below. How he missed her, missed her sparkling eyes of emerald, missed her flyaway raven waterfall, missed her comforting yet distant presence. His yearning however was not to be; he had been rejected and this was just another day in his self-imposed exile, alone and wishing he were elsewhere.

Make no mistake, he loved his tutees and enjoyed the company of the elves but they couldn't possibly compare to the effect she'd had on him, every time Ylena made an advance on him, all he could feel was betrayal, all he could smell was crushed pine needles, all he could hear was the soft breathing, all he could see was the beautiful elf woman for which his heart ached after. He was suffering and becoming more and more withdrawn by the day, his condition worried his blue dragoness and she was the only reason he didn't slip away entirely into the depths of his misery. Saphira grounded him to the world, she was his heart and mind and soul, and despite his feelings he could never bring himself to leave her.

She had suffered also; leaving Firnen had had it's impact on her; no longer was she the carefree, vain, chiding young dragon he had shared so many adventures with as they flew the lengths of Alagaesia.

_Ah, Arya_, he thought, _my heart tells me to come retrieve you and make you my bride yet my mind tells me to leave what is._

_Little one?_

The dragoness' mental voice made him turn to face her sorrowful, sapphire gaze.

_Yes, Saphira?_

His voice was weary, and he couldn't quite bring himself to meet her accusing eye.

_Oh, little one _she sighed, _you cannot go on like this, it is not an existence._

_I have not the will, Saphira, to be anything but miserable._

_Eragon, what happened to you, hmm? What happened to the caring boy I hatched for, the child who was the hope of Alagaesia? How is it you have changed so? You need to get over Arya, accept she did not feel for you as strongly as you felt for her. Little one, some things just aren't meant to be..._she trailed off quietly, at the sight of the young man before her, tears streaming down his face, a broken look in his eyes.

_Come here, Eragon._

He obliged burying his head in her neck and letting out all the bottled up emotions he had stoppered for the past ten years.

And so it was in the dimness of twilight, the hunched figure poured out his heart to the dragon beneath the stars.

**A/N: This chapter was based off the song, Read All About It by Emeli Sande. I also watched a video from Britain's Got Talent about this shadow dance group called Attraction. The piece they did to Read All About It made me cry. It's definitely worth watching.**

**Dreamshadow102 :'(**


	2. The Summons

Blodgharm** POV.**

When the letter arrive I was loathe to pick it up as it contained the very essence of thse we had left behind and tried to forget over the past decade. It had been Vgshelgr of the Urgals who had delivered it, albeit grudgingly, saying it had, as he most eloquently put it, appeared from nowhere in the air.'

I had almost cracked a smile at that; how the dwarf and Urgal Riders amused me with their eccentric mannerisms and insistent stubborness, it was a breath of fresh air in the perpetual wit and riddling ways of the elven race. Still, I missed my home and the sense of comfort it brought with it. My favourite place had, and still remained to be, the shores of Lake Ardwen in the dead of night, listening to the waves lapping on the sand and the hoot of owls and the warbling of nightingales; how free and at one with nature I had felt. But now that was all gone and while the new lands we had found were pleasant and served our needs, they couldn't compare to the beauty and wild abandon of Du Weldenvarden. I was, as the humans liked to call it, homesick, for lack of a better word. Homesick for the presence of the alfakyn, and for the bubbling brooks, and the trees, and the shady glades and the merry laughter of civilisation.

I would stick by my decision to stay beside Eragon's side, but that didn't mean I didn't yearn for what once was. he missed it too, I could see it in the Rider's eyes, the reluctance, the concealed weariness, the resignation...

But most of all the rejection and the love he had for Arya Drottning, the Queen of Elves and a fellow Rider. No, he could deny it all he wanted but he loved her, loved her even though on the final day we'd had in Alagaesia she's refused his advances and instead settled for ruling our kingdom of trees and seeing to it that the young Riders were sent to us to be trained before returning once their training was complete to patrol the Alagaesian soils and keep the peace and occasionally visit us and report back their findings.

The joy with which they spoke of it, and the sparkling in their eyes made me envious and I could see my feelings of jealousy reflected in Eragon's eyes. I, myself, could not see why he refused to go back and face his old friends, mingle and get reacquainted; I knew Saphira for one had encouraged him to but he was steadfast in his decision to stay here and bury himself in training his tutees. One couldn't fault him in the effort and devotion he had for the young Riders, the patience, the endless patience and caring. It would be endearing if he hadn't immersed himself so thoroughly in their teaching that he had lost himself along the way.

And so it was that Saphira, I and the other elves who had accompanied Eragon to these lands remained by his side, struggling to ignore the call of our homelands.

These musings brought me back to the folded piece of parchment in my hand so neatly addressed to Eragon requesting that he and his elven companions pay a visit to the capital, Illirea, as thay had renamed it. The missive came from Lady Nasuada, now Queen Nasuada, begging Eragon to reconsider, to relent his exile and come see her. I couldn't see that happening. So far, every year since we'd arrived here, a letter identical to the one I now held in my hand had been delivered and Eragon's answer remained the same:

No, I am unfortunately engaged in other matters at present. Please give my regards to everyone though. Saphira told me it was because of Arya and the fact that she'd rejected his plea at unity as mates, that made him so loathe to return to the land of his birth but just by observing, I could tell it ran a fair bit deeper than that. When I broached the topic with Saphira, she explained that that was Eragon's secret to share and despite her respect and friendship she had for me, she would not depart her Rider's feelings, not even for his closest friend.

I had been very nearly moved when she had said that; that Eragon considered me his closest friend was the most touching thing I'd had said to me throughout my entire existence in this world.

And so as I stood outside the door to Eragon's study, I couldn't bring myself to regret the decision to move from Alagaesia quite as much as I had previously. I had no need for knocking as the door swung open to reveal a pale-faced and exhausted looking, King of the Order, looking rather worse for the wear.

"Blodgharm," he greeted me, twisting his right hand over his sternum half-heartedly,"Atra esterni ono thelduin."

I nodded my head, copying the gesture,

"Mor'ranr lifa unin hjarta onr, Eragon-finiarel."

He turned, waving his hand for me to follow, before sinking into his high backed chair and steepling his hands under his pointed chin and fixing me with a piercing gaze. I settled for leaning casually against the bookcase, the letter coveniently hidden inside the breast pocket of my jerkin. Lately, I'd developed an interest in the wolf, so while I hadn't shifted into a fully-fledged beast, my eyes had turned amber, my teeth now fangs and my hands sported claws.

"Is it a summons?" Eragon asked, running a hand through his hair that flopped over his eyes.

"The very same as you had last year, and the year before and the year before, Shadeslayer," I told him, resigned to the fact I would be very soon sending a reply back that explained that while we would love to come and visit, we were urgently occupied and unable to leave our duties as of now. Eragon was silent, his eyes distant as his mind wandered a million miles away.

"Your reply, Shadeslayer?" I pressed, knowing colouring my voice. Any second now. Any second.

Eragon shifted in his chair uneasily and seemingly undecided.

"Do you think I did right in leaving, Blodgharm?"

His voice startled me and I was momentarily speechless before my sense of longing returned. It must have shown in my eyes as he then said,

"I was." We lapsed into an uncomfortable silence once more and I wondered where Saphira was.

"Do you think if I returned now, they would treat me any differently?"

He waved my stuttered reply off,

"Of course they would. Time changes people," he added quietly.

"With all due respect, Eragon, how could you possibly know until you see the emotions painted on their faces and the actions with which they treat you?"

He was silent, his eyes fixed hungrily on me, longing and pain shining predominantly in the swirling brown irises.

"Your friends care about you, Shadeslayer, they always have and they always will, don't turn your backs on them so willingly."

I awaited his response. For a moment his face morphed into that of the innocent young boy who had first entered our halls, scarred and frightened but determined and brave. But then it was gone and the mask of indifference was hauled back on top, like a lid on a jar.

"Maybe it is time to reconnect with the world. You can tell Nasuada we will journey to see her."

I was almost certain that the look on my face was that pf the utmost joy and relief as all the anguish of the last decade was released. It was quickly destroyed.

"I, however, will not be accompanying you."

My face fell and I began to protest but a raised hand made me stop abruptly.

"No Blodgharm. Saphira can go if that is what she wants but I am not. You wouldn't understand." A note of coldness and finality had entered his voice and I knew that no amount of begging and plaeding would change his mind. Eragon Bromsson had changed from the carefree boy into the aloof young man and I was uncertain as to whether the changes were for better or worse.

"Yes, Shadeslayer. I shall see to it."

And with that I left the study, my head raised slightly higher than it had been before but my heart weighed down for the troubled young man I had left behind.

* * *

The letter arrived in Illirea three weeks after the missive had been sent. Breath was held as the Queen broke the seal and unfolded the parchment, the script unmistakably that of an elf.

_Lady Nasuada,_

It began and there was silence as it was read aloud.

_Atra esterni ono thelduin._

_I hope this letter finds you well and healthy and your lands thriving. Please give my regards to the other rulers. I am happy to inform you that this year we will be able to attend your summons. Our ships should arrive on Alagaesian soil in three to four weeks where we shall travel to Illirea. Unfortunately, Lord Eragon is currently occupied and unable to attend aswell as the Mistress of the Skies Saphira Bjartskular but they wish you the very best._

_Hope to see you well,_

_Blodgharm_

_Son of Ildrid The Beautiful_

Cheering broke out as the Queen finished reading, tears of joy running down her cheeks.

* * *

Unbeknownst to everyone else, par the Red Rider, the Queen of the Fair Folk slipped out of the door, silent and noiseless as the tears tracked down her face and the guilt and regret ate another part of her heart.

* * *

**So Blodgharm and the rest are making an appearance but Eragon is staying behind. Will anything change his mind? Will he ever see Arya again?**

**Dreamshadow102:-)**


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